Helicopter disappears in Indonesia

A SEARCH is underway for a helicopter with five people onboard that might have plunged into a lake in Indonesia's North Sumatra province.

THE helicopter, owned by the charter company Penerbangan Angkasa Semesta, disappeared on Sunday, the latest of a series of air accidents in Indonesia in recent months.

"Residents said they saw a helicopter flying low over Lake Toba and heard a crashing sound," said Gusti Syaiful, the head of the local search and rescue agency.

The chopper was on a 45-minute trip to the Kuala Namu international airport in Medan city.

Lake Toba is a 100km-long natural body of water occupying the caldera of a supervolcano.